On a 102-degree day in July on a baseball field in Mather, the catcher for the 12U Martinez Diablos, 11-year-old Dominic Lumbre, watched as the opposing hitter walked up to the plate. Dominic could see that the boy was crying and was afraid to step close to the plate.
To Dominic, the tears and fears were completely understandable.
During the batter’s previous at-bat, facing the Diablos’ strongest pitcher, the boy had taken a fastball to the head.
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“It hit his helmet but also hit him in the face,” said Keith Raynor, the Diablos’ coach. “It drew some blood. It was really scary because anytime someone is throwing that hard and a kid gets hit in the face, I mean, I think everybody was just in shock.”
The game was delayed for 15 minutes while the player was cared for but, surprisingly, he stayed in the game.
It was during his next at-bat, however, against the same pitcher, that the player seemed to be re-thinking that decision.
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“I notice that he's crying and he's on the outside of the box and he just doesn't look like he wants to be there right now," Dominic said.
It was at that moment that Dominic chose kindness over competition.
He called time out to stop the game, walked over to the player and hugged him. Dominic then whispered in the player’s ear why he should have nothing to fear.
“I just tell him I would call all the pitches outside so that he wouldn't have a chance of getting hurt again," Dominic said.
That is exactly what happened, and, four outside pitches later, the boy walked safely to first base.
From the stands, Elise Diliberto, Dominic’s mother, couldn’t make out exactly what was happening, so she asked him about it during the ride home. The fact he did something so empathetic didn’t surprise Elise in the least.
“He's always really good about bringing other people up,” Elise said. “Or, if he notices a teammate is getting down on himself, he tries to tell him, 'You know it's OK. We will get him next time.’”
Coach Raynor could not have been happier about Dominic’s decision. It may have helped the other team a little (although the Diablos won the game), but it certainly helped one player a lot.
"It's cool," Raynor said. "I was so proud of him. His parents have done a good job, you know. That was a good moment.”
